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New Data, Persistent Barriers: Transition Plans are Common but Miss the Mark for Many Autistic Youth

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Authors
Shea, Lindsay L.
Chvasta, Kyle
Hotez, Emily
Date of Publication
July, 2023
Publication Type
Journal Article
Focus Area
Population Health
License
Open Access
DOI Entry
doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2023.05.003
Source
Elsevier B.V.
Citation (AMA)

The current issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health includes research that leverages an exciting new dataset generated from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) network following children diagnosed with autism through age 16 [1]. It is worth applauding the ADDM Network for extending their surveillance efforts to include adolescents in this crucial transitional period in one of the only United States autism-specific surveillance initiatives. The CDC ADDM network examined within this new age group the presence and dimensions of transition plans focused in the education system (including individualized education plan [IEPs]). In the following commentary, we discuss these findings and make recommendations regarding education and cross-system transition planning for autistic children and youth.